The First Telepathic Conversation Between Haiden and Keldor
by Rhapsod1e
Summary: A short little thing I wrote between my friend's character and my own, in which Keldor plants a sword among Haiden's collection that allows the two to talk telepathically. This is my interpretation of how Haiden would find out about this.


The first instance of telepathic conversation happened just as Haiden arrived at the barracks. She had been travelling across all of Faerûn and was now on her way back home. Damara was still a few days travel, but she was close enough to the land that she could enter into the barracks without having to prove her identification. A lot of Damaran soldiers and their allies (as well as their enemies) knew of Sir Haiden Grae, a man who climbed the ranks to be awarded with knightship and a spot in the Royal Guard. And even after gaining such rank, Sir Haiden Grae would leave the King's side to lead the charge into battle.

Knowing that she would be recognized sooner rather than later, Haiden dropped her stuff on the nearest empty bed, effectively claiming it for the night. She had just finished removing her armor when she felt a strong clap on her shoulder. "Captain!" said the young soldier, a face Haiden recognized from her troops, but no name to match to it. It didn't matter because the young man was soon dragging the knight away into the main hall where the other men were all drinking, some already drunk. As much as Haiden tried to stay away from the alcohol, a tankard found its way into her hand during all the merriment of the room. And while one drink was enough to send her off her rocker, the rest of the men thought it would be funny to see how many drinks it took for the captain to get completely wasted. It was about 3.

Haiden, even when very intoxicated, knew that she had to keep her mouth shut about certain things, especially this close to her homeland. She doubted that the searches were ever actually conducted after all these years, but she couldn't take the risk of anyone finding out that she was a girl and chance being searched for a brand mark. So she got up and stumbled her way to her bed. Drunk and tired, Haiden didn't bother taking her backpack off of the bed. As she waited for sleep to come, her arms wrapped around her bag and memories of different adventures danced across her eyelids. Her mind finally settled on one of her more recent travels.

* * *

She had been traveling with a half-orc named Keldor, and didn't think much of it. She used to travel with two half-orcs during the beginning of her career, and lived with them even before that. She actually found it a relief, as she was able to speak her native tongue instead of having to translate everything. Haiden never thought that they would actually become anything more than road companions; he would watch her back and she would watch his until the two parted ways. That quickly changed.

When the wolves came for some shepherds' sheep, Haiden acted on instinct. She remembered back to the years of being a farmhand and waking up to scare off anything that was trying to take the animals. Keldor didn't react as expediently, but Haiden didn't expect him too. He helped though, and the two were led back to town by the shepherd. On their way, she couldn't help but notice a river, and kept the path they took in mind, hoping she'd be able to sneak out later so that she could wash herself.

When in town, the two parted with the shepherd and went to the tavern. As Haiden didn't normally drink, she walked to the bartender, with Keldor following close behind, and asked the whereabouts of the inn-keep. The man was both the inn-keep and bartender, and so Haiden then asked for any available rooms. The bartender directed their attention to the rowdy group in the tavern, telling that the large man had rented all the rooms and to get one they had to best him in arm-wrestling. Haiden took one look at him and knew that she couldn't manage such a feat, but Keldor attempted to do so anyway. He didn't succeed the first time, but on the second try he did. Haiden was impressed, and pressed the large man to give them a room. He was confused and all attention was directed towards the bartender, who gave the excuse that he was bored, but that the rooms were upstairs and there was one free. Haiden shook her head and headed up, assuming that Keldor would follow.

Upon finding the empty room, Haiden claimed the bed. It was old and beat up, a spring sticking out of the fabric, but it was a bed. Sure, Haiden was used to sleeping on the bedrolls and even on the ground, but a bed (even as bad as this one) was always prefered. Keldor didn't seem to mind, setting out a bedroll on the ground and making himself comfortable. Haiden took off her armor, her back towards Keldor to prevent accidental flashing, and placed it by her bag to sell the idea that she was done for the night. She sat on the bed and rested, not really sleeping, until she was sure that Keldor was asleep. Trying not to wake him up, she left the room and the tavern and took down the path to the river.

She found what she thought was a secluded spot, there were bushes and a tree nearby, and removed her clothes, laying them down on the bankside. She let her hair down as she climbed in the water, releasing a small sigh as she sunk into the water. Haiden scrubbed her body in the gentle current, happy to just relieve her skin of the sweat and grime that had begun to accumulate. Her serenity in the moonlight was short-lived as Keldor appeared with his unique greeting. Haiden let out a shriek, not only because she was surprised but because she was caught naked. She instinctively covered herself, luckily not having to worry about shielding her branding since it was beneath the water. Keldor didn't seem to mind about her state of undress, casually commenting about her body (there was something in there about her breast size). Haiden's embarrassment turned into mortification as a family of gnomes passed by the scene, seeing her in such a state. Almost instantly, she sunk down into the water. Once they were gone, Haiden hurried to get dressed (taking care to not show the branding on her thigh) and quickly returned to the tavern, hoping to get some sleep. Beforehand, she made sure to stress the consequences Keldor would face if he told anyone her secret.

The rest of the adventure was spent with Haiden worrying that Keldor would tell, but he only ever brought it up when it was only the two of them. When she left Keldor's company, she awaited for guards to show up and search her, but they never came. She had to imagine that he never told about her secret.

* * *

While she reminisced, she could have sworn she heard Keldor's voice. She couldn't remember what was said, exactly, but the impression was that the conversation was pleasant. Enough so that she fell asleep talking to the voice.

Morning came and Haiden brushed the account aside as a side effect of drunken reminiscence. Keldor's voice and personality were so unique that her mind had no difficulty recreating it. That was the most logical of reasons. She faced a few jokes from the men as she ate her modest breakfast. She laughed with them, knowing how quickly she gets drunk. There was the one time she tried the strongest brew that a bar had and passed out before even finishing the drink. She had just about gotten over last night when the voice of a certain half-orc once more popped into her mind. "Human! Have you recovered from last night?"


End file.
